Falling Leaves
by Ash Navan
Summary: One of Kakashi's old friends mysteriously disappeared 10 yrs ago - and now she has come back, and Kakashi has begun to develop feelings for her. Unexpected Twist! Please Rate and Review!
1. An Explanation

Name: Ikari Kaile*

*Kaile's name is oft mispronounced - people call her 'Kay-lee' but she says her name is pronounced 'Kale'

Age: 25-26

Village: Hidden Leaf Village

Weight: 137

Current rank: Jounin

Length: 5'7"

Blood type: O negative

Ikari Kaile

_Appearance_: Kaile has medium brown hair with blue tips and black bangs. She wears it short, kind of styled somewhere between Naruto's hair and Sasuke's hair. Her eyes vary from seemingly black to a reddish-brown. Her eyebrows are thin and expressive when she is trying to make a point and/or arguing. She has a body like Sakura, but she has more muscle to her. Also, she wears her Hitai-ate across her forehead like Sasuke and Naruto do. Kaile's fingernails are kept short, and she wears black gloves that come to her elbows and leave her fingers bare. Kaile is a total tomboy. She hates to admit it, but her face and figure are very feminine. She has small-ish girly lips, large eyes and a straight nose. She has a black lightning tattoo from just below her left temple to the left corner of her mouth and down her neck and ends at her first rib on her left side. Kaile usually wears black and another dark color (navy blue, dark red, indigo purple, etc.), but there is always a large element of black in her outfit. Her outfits usually resemble Kakashi and Iruka's outfits but with baggier pants and a low cut blouse under her jacket. Also, she has two more kunai pouches than Kakashi - one on her ankle and one on her left hip. Kaile always wears a chain with a ring on it, no one quite knows the reason. She has worn it for as long as Kakashi has known her and only ever says that she has had it since she was a little girl.

_Relatives/History_: Kaile has lived in Kohona village since she was four; the fourth Hokage was her foster parent because she was an orphan and her brother, Tyo, was too young to take care of her.

Kaile and Tyo's original name was not Ikari (which means 'anger'), but Uchiha. Tyo and Kaile's mother was an Uchiha because her second marriage was to an Uchiha. Kyai, Kaile and Tyo's mother, was very happy with her new husband, but he had a knack for upsetting ninjas. One day, he upset Zabuza and Zabuza immediately killed him and Kyai - Tyo and Kaile were with family. Tyo stole himself and Kaile from the Uchiha village and they came to the Hidden Leaf Village where Kaile was fostered by the Hokage and Tyo trained to become a ninja. Soon after becoming a Chuunin, Tyo left Kohona and was labled a Missing-nin.

Kaile changed her last name from Uchiha to Ikari because she was angry at Tyo and her mother for leaving her, and no amount of persuasion would change her mind. She stopped answering to Uchiha, much to everyone's frustration and would only answer to Ikari. *_*"

When Kaile started ninja training, she was a year below Kakashi - however, because she was so good at what she was taught and started to go beyond, she was put into an advanced placement class, and ended up in Kakashi's class. Since she didn't know anyone, Kakashi felt pity for her (he had been friends with Tyo) and he took her under his wing. They became best friends, and he introduced her to his group of friends (Iruka, Anko, etc.). Because of Kaile being the Hokage's foster child, she was able to convince Kakashi to ask for an apprenticeship to him, thus resulting in Kakashi's formidable training.

_Personality_: Kaile is very outspoken, intelligent and highly alert - many people find it hard to trick her in anyway; indeed, only Kakashi has been able to sneak up on her a total of four times in the eighteen years

they have known each other. Kaile often stand up for the person she believes to be the underdog, and has spared several lives in her fights because she feels sorry for her opponent; but if they attempt to take advantage of this 'weakness' Kaile will kill them. -_-'

Kaile is never slow to voice her opinion and to hell with what others think - she and Kakashi have gotten in several fights over her opinions and bluntness, but they quickly forgive each other. She is easily angered, but she is also quick to forgive. Despite her quick temper, she is quite adept at hiding her emotions, often pulling a deadpan stare when she is angry, sad, confused or frightened. Or just for fun. ;P


	2. Chapter 1: The Dream

_**Chapter One: The Dream **_

_The sky was dark and threatening. It had grown steadily darker by the hour, and now, with the sun at its apex, the world looked as dark as a moonless night._

_A figure ran through the forest, gasping in exhaustion and fright. Shadows blacker than this sunless day pursued her silently._

_They came closer, snapping their seamless edges at her heels. Her breath came in racking spurts. Her pulse thunder in her ears and the sound seemed to be the approach of an endless army of shadows behind her._

_A light glimmered from ahead. Shining brightly, now gone, and appearing again, steadily growing larger each time it reappeared._

_With her last ounce of energy, she pushed herself faster, praying that she could outrun the shadows that hunted her. A house appeared, and a silver-haired ninja was standing in the doorway, calling her name._

_She stumbled at the fringes of the forest, nearly at the house's threshold, and fell to the ground. He stood looking down at her, his single Sharingan eye the only color in this black world._

_He said her name once more, and then the shadows pounced, devouring and thirsty. He disappeared from her view as they swarmed over her face, blocking out the light he held, the light that shone from his face, the only light that could ever make her herself again._

_Blackness closed over her; she was drowning she couldn't breathe._

_She screamed._


	3. Chapter 2: Recognition

**Chapter Two: Recognition - Kakashi's POV**

I was trailing behind the three kids, thinking about Kaile, yet again, and wondering where she was. If she was still even alive.

Ahead of me, Sakura and Naruto were bickering, and Sasuke was walking further on, probably preoccupied with thoughts of his older brother.

I jumped a little when I realized Sakura and Naruto were walking beside me, staring up at my face.

"Sensei?" Sakura asked from my left. I turned to face her, halting mid-stride. Naruto stopped beside me on my other side, but Sasuke continued down the path, oblivious to the fact that the rest of Team 7 had stopped.

"Yes?" I said. There was a note of worry in her voice, so I had paused to find out what was the matter.

"Is something wrong?" Naruto spoke up and I turned toward him.

"Why would you --" I started to say, but Sakura cut me off. Vaguely annoyed now with the tennis game they were playing with me, I turned back toward the pink-haired girl.

"You seem rather worried and busy, not really focusing on what's going on," She explained, her green eyes wide.

"If that's all it is, you two should focus on your third teammate," I said, gesturing to the small figure ahead of them and chuckling slightly.

"Sasuke-kun!!" Sakura yelled, running forward to catch up to him, instantly forgetting her worry about me. Thank goodness.

Naruto looked after her, then grumbled something under his breath and stomped after them. I laughed again and followed. I silently thanked Sakura for pulling me out of my thoughts and I desperately resisted being dragged back into the dark circle that they had become. I focused instead on the young trio in front of me.

Sasuke was now behind Sakura and Naruto, who were again bickering about whether or not Naruto was an idiot.

"You are too, Naruto. I mean, just think about all of the evidence. You say 'Chatora' instead of 'Chakra' -" Sakura was explaining to Naruto with a martyred air. Sasuke chuckled, and Sakura blushed. Naruto scowled at his feet.

I grinned to myself and looked over the three genins' heads, then grabbed Sasuke's backpack in shock. I needed something to steady myself on.

_It couldn't possibly be...._memories of a distant summer flashed through my mind.

The black-eyed boy looked up at me in surprise.

"Sensei?" he said, his eyes narrowed as he took in my shocked expression.

Sakura and Naruto kept walking and arguing.

A feminine figure was lying prone in the middle of the pathway, her back to us. Her hair caught the sun strangely, but that was probably because of the strange colors in her hair. Most of it was a normal color, an average medium brown, but the tips of the rather short hair were dyed blue. She was clad in black pants and a black shirt underneath a dark red jounin-type vest.

Naruto and Sakura were getting close to falling over the girl if they didn't come out of their argument when I finally came to my senses. Letting go of the Uchiha's pack, I flung myself forward and ran to the woman. I probably startled Sakura and Naruto when I practically flew past them, and I could feel their eyes burning into my back when I knelt beside her and held her.

Sakura squeaked and Naruto jumped about a foot when Sasuke ran past them also, and stood beside me.

"Sensei?"

I didn't answer. I stared at her face, the side that I could see. My heart pounded in my throat. She was so warm.

Naruto and Sakura had realized what was going on and circled around us to see what all the excitement was about.

The left side of her face was pressed into my shoulder, but it was still impossible to not see that she was stunningly gorgeous. She looked about my age, maybe a year younger, twenty-five-ish. Her eyebrows were thin and expressive and she had small-ish girly lips, thick eyelashes around what would be large eyes if they were open and a well-balanced straight nose. Her hair was probably one of the most interesting things about her. It was styled boyishly, short in the back and spiked up, but with long bangs and longer hair towards the front. It was an unremarkable medium brown in most areas, but the tips of her brown hair was dyed blue, and her bangs were dyed black. These black bangs hid the symbol on a ninja band she wore as a forehead protector, but I knew it would be a leaf, like mine. My arms were wrapped around the girl's torso, obscuring her body, but you could still see of her silhouette beneath her baggy, tomboy-styled clothing, she was very feminine but also very muscular and solid. Despite her being unconscious, nothing about her seemed vulnerable or delicate. She hadn't changed that much, except that she was definitely prettier than I remembered her.

Sakura nearly fell over with surprise when I stood up, holding the woman tenderly in my arms. Despite her obvious physical capabilities, I still wanted to protect her. At least that hadn't changed either. I looked at my students, surprised to see them. In the last few minutes, it felt as though I had traveled back in time.

"We need to get off the road. Follow." I turned away from their perplexed expressions and headed out of the warm sunlight into the forest, not looking back to see if they were trailing behind me.

I heard them move after me, first one, and then the other two a moment later.

I didn't notice the roughness of the terrain, I only focused on getting Kaile Ikari away from the road. I tried not to think about who had left her there, as though for dead, and tried to ignore how soft and pliable she felt in my arms.

_Oh, Kaile, what have you gotten yourself into now?!_

I walked blisteringly fast through the forest, ignoring the nins behind me for about ten minutes. Suddenly, the dense forest opened into a tranquil glade and I stood stock-still. Sasuke, who had been closest behind me, held out his arms to keep the other two genins from crashing into him.

I laid my Kaile down gently on the leaves, then turned to the genins.

"I apologize for the rush and lack of explanation. Please just do as I tell you. You might know what is going on in time." I struggled to keep my voice level and calm, but it came out rather hoarse.

Naruto opened his mouth to speak, but Sakura stepped on his toe. Hard. What came out of his mouth was, "Wha-AARGH!!"

I looked at Naruto, who wobbled shame-facedly beside a blushing Sakura. Sasuke had put down his pack and was looking expectantly at me for some reason.

I looked at him. Looking only at the black-eyed boy, I said in a toneless voice that sounded nothing like me, "Find firewood. It's getting dark." Sasuke nodded gestured for one of the other two genin to follow him. Sakura leapt forward to follow and the two were quickly swallowed by the forest.

I turned my back on Naruto and knelt beside Kaile. Naruto crouched behind me.

"Ikari -" I muttered, brushing back Kaile's hair from her forehead. Yes, her ninja band had a leaf on it. That hadn't changed, either.

"Is that her name?" Naruto asked. I ignored him.

Silence echoed in the glade. Naruto looked up with relief when his fellow Team 7 members reentered the dell, arms loaded with dry sticks.

"Here, sensei," Sakura smiled at me as she put her pile down on my right side. Again, I didn't respond. Sasuke put his firewood on top of Sakura's, but he kept several large ones in his hands.

Pulling a match out of his kunai, a reasonably sized fire was burning merrily within a few minutes.

While Sasuke had started the fire, I had been examining Kaile, checking her pulse, looking at her pupils and checking for broken bones. I looked up at my students. They were standing, staring at me in confusion.

"Thank you," I said before turning back to the comatose figure.

Sakura sat down on the other side of the fire, the two boys following her lead. I put a hand on the Kaile's head, and the other on her belly and I prepared all my chakra in a healing mode. A hush settled sleepily on the clearing and I pushed my life force into the lifeless form underneath my hands.

Darkness had taken a firm grip on the world and Naruto and Sakura were drowsing off when I had given her all that I could without seriously draining myself of energy.

"Sensei, who is she?" Sasuke asked.

Sakura and Naruto jolted upright, their focus on my exhausted form.

"She is an old friend of mine," I looked gently at the comatose form beside on my left. I yawned widely and lay back. "I am worn out....I gave her some Chakra so that she will wake up from her sleep soon," I added at their questioning looks.

I fell into a light dose within moments, a series of memories flitting through my sleeping mind. Several times, I felt that I had clenched my jaw or fists, and I wondered what the three children thought of my dreaming behavior.

As I drowsed, my subconscious mind realized something. I knew Kaile's energy almost as well as I knew my own. Something had changed in her; as I had been giving her Chakra, she had felt harder, colder, and detached; something I didn't remember in Kaile at all.

A screech broke through the stillness of the clearing and Sasuke bolted onto his feet, clenching his two kunais in defense. He blinked. Sakura was sitting up, eyes wide, and Naruto was also standing up, fists clenched, but I was already at Kaile's side, who was sitting bolt upright, gasping. Sasuke and Naruto relaxed slightly, and Sakura's jaw dropped.

"Kaile! Kaile, Kaile, you're alright, just breathe, Kaile, it's me, it's Kakashi, come on Kaile, you'll be alright, Kaile," I murmured, saying her name as many times as I could, just tasting it. I brushed the hair out of her face, and began rubbing her arms. She was trembling. Her eyes stared uncomprehendingly into my uncovered eye, and I was relieved to see that they were the same strange reddish-amber color that I knew so well. Her lower lip trembled and water welled in her eyes.

She blinked and a tear dripped down her cheek. "Kakashi?"

"Hey, Kaile."


	4. Chapter 3: Ignoring The Past

**Chapter Three: Ignoring the Past - Kaile's POV**

I jerked up with a scream.

The dream was always the same, and usually I woke in darkness, like now. But something was different from the last few times I could remember waking up from this dream.

A vaguely familiar voice was reaching through the after-dream haze, and I felt a soothing rubbing motion on my arms. I was quivering, not just from the dream, I realized. Something was very different. It felt almost wrong, but the rubbing sensation felt so soothing, how could it be wrong?

I tried to piece everything together. I thought about where I was, but I could remember nothing but the dream. I thought for a moment, and then remembered who had been in my dream. Kakashi Hatake. It had been near to ten years that I had last seen him, yet he was always in my dreams in one way or another.

My throat stiffened as I tried to hold back the tears. Suddenly the voice that had been murmuring my name broke through my daze, and my eyes brimmed with tears. I recognized his voice; it was the same as the one in the dream. I blinked and a tear spilled over onto my cheek. But he came into focus. I had to say his name, make sure that this was real; make sure that this was not just a horrible, cruel continuing of the dream I had just woken from; that I was not still caught in its unrelenting, merciless clutches.

"Kakashi?" I was sure that I hadn't even said it, but he responded. I could see his mouth move beneath his black mask.

"Hey, Kaile." He said. He said my name in such a matter of fact way that it completely broke though my hard, emotionless shell that I had spent so long on building. The way he spoke made it seem as though I had never left my life in the Hidden Leaf Village.

The next thing I knew, I was sobbing into his shoulder, our arms entangled about each other, one of his hands stroking my hair in that familiar way. That simple, soothing touch brought back so many memories of my childhood in Konoha that I began to cry even harder. I buried my face in his neck and held him as tightly as I could. I could never let Kakashi go, not now that I had found him again. A black hole in my heart seemed to heal easily in the few minutes that he held me, one that I hadn't even know was there. I felt whole again, and not embarrassed about crying in front of him as I had before I had left. I leaned back to look at him, my lips trembling through my smile. He looked exactly as I remembered him.

From beneath his mask I could see his replying grin, his uncovered eye alight with a happiness that echoed my own. I reached up with my hand to cup his face.

"Oh, Kakashi," I murmured, my voice catching on his name, "How I've missed you."

His arms tightened around me and he made as if to pull me close again, when a voice behind me said, "What the hell is going on?!"

I turned around, still holding onto Kakashi, and was astounded by the sight of three children staring at Kakashi and I.

Kakashi cleared his throat and stood up with me still in his arms, giving me no choice but to stand up with him. He turned me to face the kids.

"Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke," Kakashi's warm breath tickled my ear, "This is Kaile Ikari. Kaile, these are my ninja students."

I stared in wonder at the children. _Kakashi's....students. Oh. So much has changed...._

There were two boys and a girl. The gangly boy closest to Kakashi and I had black hair and eyes as dark as the shadows in my dream. Kakashi gestured him closer and I shivered.

"Kaile, this is Sasuke Uchiha," my eyes bugged out at his last name. _The last __**true**__ Uchiha besides Itachi?!_ I shuddered slightly, but managed to smile at the boy and shake his hand warmly.

The girl was next. She had pale pink hair, large green eyes and a rather large forehead that she apparently tried to hide with her bangs. "Sakura Haruno," Kakashi said, and I shook her hand too with a smile.

The last child was a blond boy with large blue eyes. He was staring open-mouthed at me, his eyes looking as though they might fall out any moment now. Three strange lines marked his cheeks like whiskers. "And this is Naruto Uzumaki," Kakashi announced, sounding rather like a proud parent. I raised an eyebrow at him. He gave me a 'What?' sort of look in return. I smirked to myself before shaking the boy's hand and giving him a smile as well. He was the one who had said, "What the hell is going on," and I smirked at him.

By now, Kakashi had let go of me, although he still hovered beside me as though he thought I might keel over any moment. I tilted my head to look up at him. Despite Kakashi's being a year older than me, we had remained at similar heights through our childhood, having growing spurts at nearly the same times. Our friends and my foster father had joked about it, 'Synchronized spurting,' was the term they coined for us. Even now, with both of us well past puberty, we were close to the same height. Only a few inches separated us from looking directly into each other's eyes.

"I'm not going to faint, Kakashi-kun," I said teasingly. Sure enough, he flushed and stuttered.

"I-I wasn't....ergh...I-gh-" Kakashi rubbed the back of his head in the same gesture I had known growing up with him. I laughed, a clear, bell-like sound, and quickly stopped when I heard myself. I hadn't truly laughed like that in so many years that I had startled myself. I looked at Kakashi, my fingertips to my lips, my eyes probably as wide as Naruto's had been.

"Kaile-kun?" Kakashi's voice was worried. _Yep, my eyes were probably as wide as Naruto's._ I giggled to myself.

I spun around in a circle before facing him. He laughed and I pulled out my patented deadpan stare. Kakashi laughed harder. My guess was correct. He remembered it. I had used this expression all the time on my foster father and our friends - especially Iruka. I returned my attention to the doubled up jounin in front of me. I skipped forward and knelt beside him, feeling my old self peeking her head out of her hiding place. I felt strange, but the strangeness felt normal - like my normal for the past ten years had been all wrong. Perhaps it was.

I had become a different person after I left Konoha. I had become an emotionless, hard person, doing what I was told in a robotic sort of way. But in just a few minutes around Kakashi, I had felt a strange sort of life flowing through my veins. I felt alive like I never remembered feeling before.

Kakashi was holding his stomach, laughing and occasionally snorting. The three children stared. I winked at them, and then bent down to look at his face.

"Are you remembering the with the banner?" I asked, making a reference to a summer when I had used my pokerfaced stare nearly everyday. I could hear the laughter in my voice.

Kakashi sat up. He pulled down his mask to wipe his eyes free of the happy tears that had accumulated from his laughing fit. He shook his head, still chortling.

"No?! Well....is it the summer when we went to the hot springs?" Kakashi shook his head, but started laughing like a crazy person again. I couldn't keep my face straight. Within moments, we were both lying on the forest floor, laughing our heads off like the two ridiculous people that we were.

Eventually me and Kakashi sat back up, gasping and snickering weakly. My stomach hurt because of laughing so hard. He wiped his Sharingan eye and then made to pull his mask back up to cover it, and I grabbed his hand.

"Kakashi-" I said, an earnest expression on my face. He stared at me.

I cleared my throat. "Don't cover up your face....please? I've missed seeing you so much-" My throat constricted and my voice hitched.

Kakashi held my hand in both of his. "Alright, Kaile."

I smiled happily. As I looked at him I noticed several changes that had been hidden by the mask. Kakashi had traces of frown lines on his face, and his face was thinner that I remembered - but then I realized that I was remembering Kakashi from his gangly puberty stages. I chuckled to myself.

From where the kids were standing, the unmistakable sound of a stomach rumbling could clearly be heard. Kakashi turned to his students and I looked over his shoulder, steadying myself with a hand on his back.

Naruto was blushing, so I automatically assumed it had been his stomach. I giggled. Sasuke rolled his eyes, and Sakura looked primly at her hands.

I reached into the kunai pouch on my hip for a piece of jerky and threw it to Naruto. It landed on his lap and he stared at it.

"Huh?" I rolled my eyes. _Children are SO dense!_ I thought.

"It's meat. Eat it." I explained patiently.

Sasuke stared at the slice of meat in Naruto's hands and then looked at me, anger, suspicion and......fear? in his eyes.

_Oh, crap_, I thought. The only jerky I had with me was an Uchiha specialty that only someone living in the Uchiha village would have ever encountered, and only an Uchiha would have known how to make. The strange honey-comb shape was its distinguishing feature, and there was definitely no mistaking it. I tried to divert his attention, or at least make it seem as if it wasn't what he thought it was.

"So, Kakashi, what's been going on? How's Iruka and every one?" I said, turning to my friend nonchalantly.

He smirked at me. He knew exactly what I was doing and why.

_Shit! Please, Kakashi, work with me here! I've fought so hard to erase Uchiha from my past!_ I prayed he would go along with my pretense.

"Iruka's fine. He makes ramen for Naruto when we're in Konoha, and he helps me keep my spirit up." He winked at me, and I blushed for some reason.

I sat there, trying to figure out why Kakashi's winking at me had made me feel butterflies in my belly and also made me blush. When I looked back up, it was because I smelled a soup being made over the fire. Kakashi was adding rice to a small pot over the fire and Naruto and Sakura were kneeling close by, watching him avidly. Sasuke was sitting not too far away from them, watching Kakashi too, but his gaze kept flickering to me.

Naruto's stomach snarled and Kakashi laughed. "Not too long, Uzumaki."

I scooted over to Kakashi on my butt until I was sitting beside him. "Why'd you call him by his last name?" I asked.

"Erm....I don't....know...." Kakashi fidgeted and almost spilled the soup he was stirring as he trailed off. He stared at me, both eyes wide. We both blushed and his lips twitched into a smile ever so slightly. He looked away first, and as he continued cooking, I studied his profile.

Every now and then his gaze flickered to me, and each time he blushed slightly. To say that his reaction was confusing would be an understatement. I would have to look in a mirror - something that I hadn't done in about four years - to get what Kakashi was seeing. Maybe I had become pretty in some random turn of events; not that there had been a shortage of random incidents in my life away from Konoha; but it seem highly unlikely that any of them had made me good-looking.

A little voice spoke at the back of my head. _You know, you might have been good-looking all along, just never realized it, Missy Tomboy, huh?_

_Shut up!_ I told myself. I was NOT pretty, I had NEVER been pretty, and nothing that happened would change that.

_So there!!_ I said to that annoying voice.

"Dinner," said Kakashi. He handed me a bowl from a pocket on the inside of his jounin jacket. I smiled my thanks, and then served the children their soup, leaning over Kakashi. As I sat back down, my own bowl in my lap, I shot a glance at Kakashi and flashed a smile at him when our eyes met. I blushed yet again as I looked down.

_Why does he keep staring at me?_


	5. Chapter 4: Heading Home

**Chapter Four: Heading Home - Kakashi's POV**

When Kaile leaned over me to serve the genin, my breath caught. Despite her jounin jacket that hid much of her figure, I could still see enough to make my breath quicken. The way the firelight clung to every line in her body made my heart rate pick up. Her hips swayed as she moved back to her spot with a full bowl. I couldn't take my eyes from her.

When she sat back down, she shot a quick smile at me before looking down at her bowl with a blush. I wondered if she thought of me in the same way that I did of her, or if she thought that there was something wrong with me that I kept staring at her.

I had barely lifted my bowl to take my first sip of my improvised soup when Naruto held out his empty bowl for more.

Kaile laughed. "Little hungry, there, Naruto-kun?"

I grinned at my student.

Sasuke glared at Kaile, and Sakura smiled shyly when Kaile flashed a smile in their direction.

Naruto had eaten about half of the soup when it was finally gone. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve and looked at me.

"Sensei, I'm still hungry." I rolled my eyes.

Sakura snipped at the blond haired boy. "You'll just have to wait, pig."

Kaile laughed, the same, clear sound that had startled her earlier. She flashed another glance at me, and this time it was I who blushed. Seeing her in the firelight, with that alive look in her eye brought back so many vivid memories. And yet, there had been that stillness in her life force when I had been putting my Chakra into her....I pushed these thoughts away. It had been such a long time since I'd seen Kaile, I was determined to enjoy her company while she was here....before she disappeared again. Which I fervently hoped she wouldn't.

Now that my best friend - yes, that was the way to think of her, just a friend - had come back, I couldn't....no, wouldn't let her vanish.

I turned to the blue eyed boy staring impatiently at me. "When we get back to Konoha you can eat again. Alright?"

"When are we leaving here?" Sakura asked. She shivered, and I realized that it had gotten a little chilly.

I looked to Kaile. "Are you alright to travel?"

She looked at me like I had kunais coming out of my nose. "Of course I am, nitwit. When am I ever **not** ready?" She rolled her eyes and we shared a laugh.

Back in the days when we were Chuunin, Kaile had always been the one to get everyone else moving. I had been the worst of the bunch; sleeping in, procrastinating, having extra helpings of food when everyone was waiting for me to be done, the list was practically endless.

I gathered my bowls and pot, Sakura put out the fire, and soon we were heading back to the road.

Kaile ended up walking with Naruto and Sakura's hands in hers, but Sasuke walked beside me, shooting glares at Kaile's back every few minutes. I could feel his suspicion and fear of Kaile like a gathering storm front. The air around the Uchiha seemed to gather energy each time he looked at the jounin. By the time the sun peeked over the horizon, the area around him seemed to crackle with static energy as he trudged beside me.

Kaile had chatted with Naruto and Sakura as we had traveled; as the hours progressed, the genins became evermore comfortable around Kaile, until they were completely at ease with my old friend - acting as though they had known her their whole lives.

As the sun rose in the sky, I listened to her tell the children jokes that we had told each other as kids - and realized that I couldn't keep my eyes from her for more than a few minutes at a time. But it wasn't from lack of trying. Each time I realized I was staring, I jerked my head to look at the scenery....and inexplicably found myself drawn back to staring.

Finally I just gave up. I stared willingly at her, trying to pinpoint exactly what was making Kaile Ikari - who I had known since we were both in the ninja academy - so fascinating to me now.

She'd always been pretty, even through the awkward stages of puberty, and her clothing styles hadn't changed. They were baggy and boyish, and basically the same as my outfit. But that wasn't it.

Her hair had been dyed and styled like it was now for about seven years before she left the Hidden Leaf Village - that wasn't it either.

I was getting nowhere fast.

"Hn...." I said. I must have startled Sasuke, because he looked up at me suddenly. I ignored him.

I decided to just start with any obvious changes.

I frowned at Kaile's back, my eyes narrowing, trying to pin down a change to start with. This was going to be difficult.

Then, as though she had sensed my eyes upon her, Kaile turned around to glance at me, her expression startlingly soft and tender, but her strange eyes sparkling merrily back at me. She looked back down at Sakura who had said something to her, and her expression softened even more.

Maybe that was it. Kaile had become rather motherly towards the two genin beside her....but no....that wouldn't explain this pulling sensation I felt from her.

Kaile looked back again and winked as she said the punch line of a joke that I had told her, the looked at Naruto who began chattering away about something that the joke had reminded him of.

I tore my eyes from Kaile's swaying hips with some difficulty, trying to distance myself to look at the whole picture.

Kaile Ikari had always been very feminine in her body shape, however vehemently she tried to deny it - nothing was changed there and I hadn't been drawn to her this way in our childhood.

I sighed. Maybe later, when Kaile wasn't around, I could go back over any changes that I could find.

Shaking my head, I looked at the three ninjas, trying to keep my focus off of Kaile.

Sakura was swinging her hand within Kaile's her eyes bright with laughter. Naruto stared up at Kaile with an almost worshipping expression - it wasn't hard to see that he was absolutely dazzled by her.

Sasuke - oh, dear - was glowering at Kaile's back.

I could mostly understand his fear of Kaile and some of the reason behind his anger towards her - Sasuke probably thought that Kaile had aided Itachi in the slaughter of the Uchiha clan.

He could not have been further from the truth.


	6. Chapter 5: Heading Home Part 2

**Chapter Five: Heading Home - Kaile's POV**

The sun peeked over the treetops, its honey-colored rays striking me full in the face. I squinted ahead a the road, and stopped short, my heart beating faster with the adrenaline rush that shot through my body.

_Home...._

Kakashi stepped close behind me. "Kaile-kun?" He asked, worry in his voice. "Is something wrong?" His hand was on the small of my back and I could feel his breath on my neck. I shivered delightedly, but I knew not why.

I had let go of the two genin's hands, and now turned to face Kakashi, blushing because he had made butterflies in my stomach again, but tears of joy spilling down my cheeks.

"Konoha...." I whispered, facing him.

I could see his grin beneath the mask that he had pulled back over his face as he nodded. I grabbed his hands excitedly.

I stared at him, my eyes wide and imploring.

"The Hidden Village of the Leaf," Kakashi-kun said, a laughing lilt in his voice.

I grabbed him into a tight hug, startling him, and laughed while I cried into his shoulder. He had started to wrap his arms around me when I flung myself away and began running towards the gates of Konoha.

I could hear my friend laughing behind me as I flew closer to my childhood home. I began to slow my rushing feet to meet the chuunins who guarded the gateway. As I jogged closer I thought that maybe one of them, the one on the right, looked a bit familiar.

_Iruka???_ I thought.

"Kaile?!" the left chuunin called down the pathway to me.

I gave a great shout of joy and leapt into the air before I began running again.

"Sasuke!" I heard Kakashi shout a warning behind me, but I ignored it.

A moment later I skidded to a halt, faced with a ferocious-looking genin who blocked my path.

"Sasuke-kun...." Iruka called from the gate. I heard Kakashi and the other two genins begin running towards us.

I blinked at him, then held out my hands to show him that I wasn't going to arm myself.

Sasuke narrowed his black eyes and growled at me.

I blinked again.

"Did you just....growl....at me?!" I could hear the incredulity in my voice.

Sasuke did nothing but tighten his grip on the two kunais he had armed himself with as Kakashi, Sakura, Naruto and Iruka arrived, panting, on the scene.

Kakashi put a hand on Sasuke's shoulder, looking down at him with his uncovered eye with understanding in his eyes while Iruka stepped closer to me.

I ignored my friend, my entire attention fixated on the kneeling Kakashi and tense Sasuke.

"Sasuke-kun, do you really think that I would have taken care of Kaile if she was not who I think she is?" Kakashi's voice was low and soothing.

Sasuke glared at Kaile. "But she had the Uchiha -" here the genin broke off and he scrubbed the beginnings of tears angrily from his eyes.

"Uchiha Sasuke-san," I stepped towards him, my hands held out to show him that I meant no harm, and I kneeled beside Kakashi, my eyes fixated only on Sasuke's eyes.

Sasuke stared warily back at me, distrust clear in his deep black eyes, so like Itachi's.

Because of Naruto and Sakura's closeness, I lowered my voice to a whisper so that Kakashi and Iruka would be the only other people to hear what I was about to say.

"I know that you think that I helped Itachi-san with the murder of our - your clan, but that is not true," I hoped that Sasuke would not have noticed the slip I made, "I loved all those of the Uchiha family with my whole heart, and I would never have done anything to harm any one of them." I tried to put feeling in my voice so that Sasuke could hear it and know I was speaking the truth.

I glanced meaningfully at Sakura and Naruto as I said, "Later, I will tell you my story," and here I hesitated, "if you will permit me to explain." I looked hopefully into his abyssal eyes.

He glanced at Kakashi, then Iruka, and back at me. His gaze flickered ever so slightly to Sakura and Naruto, but shot back to me.

He nodded. I placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled gently at him, trying to put all of the warmth and understanding that I could in the simple gestures. Sasuke merely stared at me, then stepped away.

"Thank you, Kaile-san." I nodded.

I stood up, then held my hand out for Kakashi to help him up. He raised his eyebrow at me, and the gravity of the moment was dispelled easily by Iruka's jovial laughter.

I turned to the brown haired jounin with delight.

"Iruka-kun!!!" I grabbed my friend into a tight hug, hearing him gasp as I squeezed the air from his lungs. Kakashi laughed behind us.

"Easy there, Kaile-kun!" Iruka laughed as I released him, massaging his ribs. He placed a hand on my shoulder and looked seriously at me.

I raised a hand and traced the scar across his nose. He started as I placed my fingertip on it, then stared at me with an unreadable expression in his eyes. I let my hand drop. For several moments, neither of us blinked as we regarded each other. I wanted so to ask him what had happened, but realized that it might be a painful experience to relive.

"I missed you, Iruka-kun."

"I've missed you, too, Kaile-kun."

We smiled, and I looked over at Kakashi and took his hand in mine, then reached for Iruka's hand. I squeezed their fingers gratefully, then looked up at Konoha's gate.

Kakashi chuckled and Iruka said amiably, "Would you like to go home?"

I nodded feverishly and squeezed my friends' hands again.

Iruka laughed with Kakashi this time, and I let their hands go and scowled at them.

Naruto came up between the two men and took my left hand. I looked down at him, feeling my expression soften, and smiled gently.

"Come on, Kaile-san!" Naruto tugged impatiently on my hand. "Let's go! I want to show you all my favorite places in Konoha!!"

I laughed and allowed him to pull me through Konoha's gate, nodding at the second chuunin who guarded it. Kakashi, Sakura and Sasuke followed me inside, and I looked back once to wave to Iruka.

He nodded, then turned back to the world outside of Hidden Leaf Village.

Naruto tugged my again and I laughed at his impatience and followed him through the streets, my heart light and happy.

I was home.

* * * * *

Iruka sighed, ignoring the look that his fellow chuunin guard shot him, and leaned against the wall of Konoha, pushing his head against it to look into the sky.

Seeing Kaile Ikari after - how many? Ten, at least - years was definitely a shock. But not as much of a shock as the fact that nothing about her - physically, at least - seemed different in anyway; or the surprised and hungry look that he had seen in Kakashi's eyes.

He was also startled by the fact that, somehow, Sasuke had known about Kaile's Uchiha past; at least, that there was some Uchiha involvement there. Iruka's brow furrowed in contemplation.

It didn't make sense to him - any of it.

Kaile had disappeared without reason - no goodbyes - and suddenly she had just reappeared.

_I wonder if it's anything to do with the Uchiha business....again...._Iruka thought. Nearly everything that Kaile had ever done - from becoming a jounin, befriending those who were likely to go far in the ninja society - had been a way of escaping from her Uchiha past, and she had always tried her hardest to keep people from knowing about it.

Iruka sighed again, then straightened up as a chuunin appeared from completing a mission. He and his companion checked his papers, then waved him through.


End file.
